Rhumbline Advisers Sells 27,933 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Rhumbline Advisers decreased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 666,355 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 27,933 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.21% of Marathon Petroleum worth $92,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,399 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,311,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 918,361 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $128,111,000 after buying an additional 16,825 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,521 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $156.11 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.08. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $130.54 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $50.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.